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Financial Aid Rules, Rights & Responsibilities

1. Full-time student status (12 or more credit hours) must be maintained for full aid. A student must maintain at least 6 credit hours to receive any financial aid, including Federal Direct Loans.
2. A student must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined by the University to qualify for financial aid. For information on satisfactory academic progress guidelines, view the University website in the Financial Aid section.
3. The  requires that a student maintain at least 6 credit hours to receive a one-half-time rate payment, at least 9 credit hours to receive a three-fourths-time rate payment, and at least 12 credit hours to receive a full-time rate payment. Students enrolled for fewer than 6 hours may receive Pell Grant funds if eligible.
4. All federal assistance awards are contingent upon clearance of the verification process as required by federal regulations. Failure to submit the necessary documentation and information required for verification by established deadlines will result in the cancellation of the award.
5. If Federal Work-Study is part of your award, present your award letter and three forms of identification to the Work-Study Office to sign your employment contract. If you do not accept the job offered, sign your contract late, or fail to work as assigned, the full amount of your Federal Work-Study award cannot be earned. Federal Work-Study funds are earned monthly according to hours worked and are not credited at registration. Work-Study is a job, and if you do not work, you will not be paid. Students may not work until registered and a Work-Study contract has been signed in the Student Financial Services Office. Students may only work the number of hours specified in their contract. To promote academic success and prevent exhaustion, students enrolled at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï may hold no more than one employment position at a time, including Federal Work-Study, College Work-Study, and Residence Assistant (RA) positions.
6. The institutional financial aid award shall not result in a credit balance to the student when combined with other scholarship or grant offers. Institutional financial aid will be reduced per academic year if any external scholarship or grant creates a credit balance for the student.
   
   I FURTHER UNDERSTAND THAT IF MY AWARD CONSISTS ONLY OF GRANTS, EXTERNAL SCHOLARSHIPS, OR INSTITUTIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS, I AM NOT ELIGIBLE FOR A CREDIT BALANCE.
   
   NOTE: Outside Scholarship Policy (Stacking)
   ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï aims to ensure the fair and equitable distribution of financial aid. When a student receives an outside scholarship while also receiving an institutional scholarship from ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï, the awards will not be stacked to provide additional funds directly to the student. If the combined aid results in an overage, the institutional scholarship will be reduced accordingly. This policy prevents over-awarding and ensures scholarship funds are used solely to support educational expenses.
7. Financial Aid Awards, Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and Direct Parent PLUS Loans may only be used to pay educational costs incurred during the period covered by the award letter and MAY NOT BE USED TO SATISFY PAST INDEBTEDNESS TO TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY.
8. All loans are legally binding obligations that MUST BE REPAID. You may decline any loan funds included in your award at any time.
9. All funds, except Federal Work-Study funds, will be credited to the student's account upon registration by the Bursar's Office.
10. The Office of Student Financial Services reserves the right to review or cancel awards due to changes in financial standing, academic status, program status, failure to observe the University's code of conduct, or suspicion of fraudulent information.
11. All federal awards are contingent upon adequate appropriations. A reduction in federal funding may necessitate a reduction in an individual's award.
12. Each award recipient must reapply each year by February 1 for consideration for aid. It is the student's responsibility to obtain and complete all required application materials.
13. Any student receiving full room and board through the University scholarship program must reside on campus. You may purchase a meal plan if you have a room and board award but reside off campus.
14. Students awarded housing scholarships will be eligible for double-occupancy payment based on the University's lowest-cost residence hall.
15. Your award will be adjusted if you were awarded as an on-campus student and subsequently move off campus.

 

Book Voucher and Laptop Purchase Policy

Students receiving institutional scholarships, outside scholarships, or a combination of both that create a credit balance (overage) on their student account may be eligible for a book voucher and/or laptop purchase authorization.

1. Eligible students may receive a book voucher of up to $1,000 per academic term for textbooks, required course materials, and approved academic supplies through the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Campus Bookstore.
2. Students requiring a laptop for academic purposes may purchase a laptop only through the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Campus Bookstore.
3. The student must obtain a price quote or invoice from the Campus Bookstore and present it to the Bursar's Office for review and approval prior to purchase.
4. The Bursar's Office will verify enrollment status, scholarship eligibility, and available credit balance before authorizing a book voucher or laptop purchase.
5. Laptop purchases from outside retailers, vendors, online stores, or third-party sellers are not eligible for payment or reimbursement under this policy.
6. Book vouchers may only be used for textbooks, required course materials, and approved academic supplies sold through the Campus Bookstore.
7. Any remaining credit balance after approved book voucher and laptop purchases will be reviewed by the Bursar's Office.
8. Institutional scholarship funds that create an overage will be adjusted as necessary to reduce the institutional scholarship balance to zero.
9. Institutional scholarship funds are intended to cover approved educational expenses and are not refundable to the student.
10. Students will not receive a cash refund from institutional scholarship funds that exceed University charges and approved educational expenses.
11. Any eligible refund resulting from non-institutional funding sources will be processed in accordance with University refund procedures and applicable regulations.
12. ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï reserves the right to review, limit, deny, or adjust book voucher and laptop purchase requests to ensure compliance with institutional policies and prevent over-awarding.

NOTE: Students whose institutional and/or external scholarships create an overage may utilize up to $1,000 at the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Campus Bookstore for required educational materials. Students needing a laptop for academic purposes may purchase a laptop only through the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Campus Bookstore after approval from the Bursar's Office. Any remaining institutional scholarship overage will be adjusted to zero and will not be refunded to the student.

 

Institutional Admissions Scholarship Renewal Policy

Effective beginning with the 2026-2027 Academic Year, ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï has implemented updated renewal requirements for institutional admissions scholarships. These requirements are separate from Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards and apply only to institutional scholarship eligibility.

The following scholarships are covered under this policy:

• Presidential Scholarship
• Merit Scholarship
• TU Achievement Scholarship
• TU Grant
• Alabama Incentive Scholarship

General Renewal Requirements

To remain eligible for scholarship renewal, students must:

• Meet the required cumulative GPA for their scholarship.
• Successfully complete 30 earned credit hours by the end of the Spring semester.
• Meet all scholarship renewal requirements by the end of the Spring semester.

Important Policy Updates

• Scholarship eligibility will be reviewed at the conclusion of the Spring semester.
• Summer coursework will not be used to restore scholarship eligibility once renewal decisions have been made.
• Appeals for Admissions Scholarship renewal decisions will not be available.
• Students who do not satisfy the published renewal requirements will not be eligible for scholarship renewal for the following academic year.

Scholarship Renewal Requirements for New Students Entering Fall 2026

Scholarship Renewal Requirements for Returning Students

Additional Scholarship Renewal Information

• Students must meet both the GPA requirement and the earned hour requirement to qualify for renewal.
• Completing 30 earned hours without meeting the required GPA will result in loss of scholarship eligibility.
• Meeting the required GPA without completing 30 earned hours will result in loss of scholarship eligibility.
• Summer coursework cannot be used to satisfy scholarship renewal requirements after the Spring evaluation period.
• Scholarships covered under this policy cannot be reinstated through a future review process once they have been lost due to failure to meet renewal requirements.
• No appeal process is available for admissions scholarship renewal decisions.

NOTE: Federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards remain separate from institutional scholarship renewal standards. Students must meet Federal SAP requirements to maintain eligibility for federal financial aid and must separately meet scholarship renewal requirements to maintain eligibility for institutional scholarship funding.